Relación entre los Morfismos y la Función de Sprague-

Now we address pressure points, a topic that often arises in the area of self-defense.There are three schools of thought regarding this dubious practice.

School of meridian

This school sees the body as having many “meridians of energy” that can be disrupted by touches in pinpoint locations.This is unadulterated BS.There is no science to back up these claims, and competing cults of

meridian pressure-points and touch knockouts offer dif- ferent versions of where these meridians lie.They can’t agree which meridians are harmful, which are good or how to access them.

These individuals dance at the far outskirts of credi- bility.They skirt proof that the techniques don’t work with excuses like (I am not making this up):“If he was holding his left big toe pointing upward when I struck him, this could alter the meridian and counter my strike.” Oh, really?

This school of thought is rife with charlatans, the self- delusional and the uninformed. I empathize with the second group since we’ve all been taken in by some form of bunk (most nutritional supplements and WMDs come to mind).You can laugh at this foolishness until you realize that the charlatans in this make-believe land of pseudo-crypto-mystical martial arts are advising good people how to protect themselves.The risibility then becomes the indefensible. It’s the 21st century, folks,

let’s leave the superstition behind.

School of merely discomforting

The second group is grounded in reality and focuses on points on the body that can and do cause discomfort and pain. My only quarrel here is that this vocabulary of pressure or pain points has been expanded to include the merely uncomfortable.While these uncom- fortable points may be of value for certain grappling enthusiasts and law enforcement for compliance uses, they are of no immediate value to those in the midst of a life-or-death situation. Far too many of these uncom- fortable points seem to merely annoy, or in some cases, enrage those on the receiving end.When the stakes are life or death, we need to aim higher than annoyance.

School of pain

In comparison to the first two, the vocabulary of tar- gets in this school is greatly abbreviated. I think you’ll find it extensive enough to provide you with many options. It only includes targets that, at the very least, make the 90 percent grade.This means that if the target is attacked in the suggested manner, you will incite a great deal of pain and injury. For the real world, this is the school where our lesson plan comes from.

Ear ripping

The ear,

like hair, has a grain. Grip the ear tightly and rip it forward toward the face and down.

This floppy appendage is sur-

prisingly easy to remove from the head if we are to believe

Department of Defense studies, Hair pulling is a useful tool, but how you pull hair can add ferocity to this tactic.

Hair grows

along a grain in a certain direction. Hair on the top of the scalp grows toward the forehead, hair on the back of the head grows toward the crown, and hair on the side grows toward the top of the head.The most effective way to cause pain with a hair pull is to go against the grain. Pulling hair on the head from front to back, for example.

I also recommend gripping as

much hair as you can and giving quick ballistic jerks against the grain. This approach has the potential to unroot hair and cause scalp tears.

In the section on improvised bodily weapons, we’ve made reference to and utilized some of these tar- gets, but the topic deserves another head-to-toe inventory. We provide viable weapons or tactical choices versus the listed target, but I urge you to look beyond what we suggest and conjure ideas about what your inner Tasmanian Devil could do to said target. You should approach this list thinking not only about which of your body weapons could do what to each target, but also what improvised weapon would exploit the given target to best effect. Would a ballpoint pen jab work in this soft target? Would a dress shoe slammed here be effective? Would slashing with a dinner fork be smart here? You get the idea. Give thought (and practice) to both armed and unarmed responses to the given targets.

Again, I urge you not to think of any single target as the be-all, end-all, but more along the lines of one target hit amongst the many in your Gatling gun response. The target attacks are demonstrated in a variety of positions, although the given position is not necessarily the ideal posture for attack. You should practice each body weapon and each strike from a variety of positions to breed familiarity.

Hair

Ear spiking

Jam your thumb directly into the

ear canal with all your might.

Ear compression shock

Use a cupped palm to slap the

ear with all your might.

The compression has the great

potential to rupture the ear drum. The eyes are a terrific equalizer because no matter how big, bad or mean a predator is, there are no steroids to build a protective layer of mus- cular eyelid to stop even a mild attack to the eyes.

Eye jab

Self-explanatory.

Eye whip

Whip a backhand slap to the

eyes.

Eye slap

Use a forehand slap.

Allowing the wrist to relax gives

more speed and sting to both the eye whip and eye slap.

Eye gouge When the quarters are tight, dig thumbs, fin- gers, chin or whatever you can manage as deep into the sockets as you can.

Eyelid tear As horrible as it sounds. Pinch the eyelid between thumb and forefinger. Twist and pull. Eyes

Nose compression

The nose can be quite sensitive

to being struck.

Any strike delivered to this

target is worth your time.

Hog nose

The nasal septum above the

philtrum (the twin grooves of skin beneath the nose that lead to the upper lip) is an area to use for leverage when in tight.

Forcing your palm or fingers

into the philtrum and then up toward the septum cartilage that divides the nasal cavity provides painful pressure and drives the head back.

Thrust at a 45 degree angle.

Nostril ripping An indelicate way to attack the same target, but it is highly effective and can be

accessed fairly easily at close quarters.

Insert fingers or thumb into a

nostril and rip up and out.

Fish hooking

A “dirty” tactic borrowed from

old school wrestling.

Insert the fingers or thumb into

the corner of the mouth — it is important that you enter from the side to avoid a bite.

Hook the fingers into the corner

of the mouth and curve them toward the cheek and pull out. This helps avoid teeth. Once you have purchase, rip.

Lip ripping

Approach

from the side.

Use the fore-

finger and thumb to pinch either the upper or lower lip and rip against the grain. The upper lip is ripped toward the top of the skull, the lower lip toward the chin.

Nose

Throat striking

You’ve seen heavily muscled

human beings, so bulked up they appear to have no neck because their trapeziuses have advanced to their ears. You’ll notice too that there is no musculature over the neck in front of the trachea. That’s good news for us.

Strikes to the trachea are

deceptively simple, yet highly effective.

Gouging, gripping, ripping

Even in tight quarters, the tra-

chea is vulnerable to attack.

When gripping, do not forget to

squeeze and twist.

Jugular notch

Right now

feel the top of your sternum (breastbone).

Feel the little

dip at the top of the bone that leads to soft

tissue? That’s the jugular notch.

This area is an excellent spot

for gouging. Rabbit punching / nape of the neck Strikes to the back of the neck or back of the head are called rabbit punches. Hunters use a swift blow to the back of a rabbit’s neck to dispatch the animal quickly.

Sharp blows to the back of the

neck and head also have a debili- tating effect on humans. So much so that the tactic is illegal in boxing. It is for all these reasons that we want it in our arsenal.

Solar plexus / diaphragm

Most of us

have had the wonderful expe- rience of having the wind knocked out of us. Sharp blows to the diaphragm are responsible for that terrific feeling. For those unclear about the region I refer to, feel your sternum again and slide toward the bottom of the bone.

Torso Throat & neck

The soft tissue at the bottom of

the sternum is what we are tar- geting. You have a bit more play here than the jugular notch. Aim your strike within 3 inches of this region.

The diaphragm responds to

deep sharp blows. Gouging is less successful. Love handles While not debilitating, I include these as they are unexpected and can cause movement useful to posi- tion yourself for a better attack in tight quarters.

Grip, twist and rip the fatty pro-

tuberances that we find on either side of the waist above the hip bone on most human beings.

Nipple rip

Exactly what it sounds like —

another movement inspiring target.

Grip, twist and rip.

Arm pit rip

Not a debili-

tating shot, it can inspire movement when all else is out of reach.

Drive your

fingers or thumb deep into the armpit.

If possible, grip your fingers

together to include the sweep of

pectoral (chest muscle) that crosses in front of the armpit.

Gouge upward into the armpit,

squeeze and rip.

Short ribs strike The last or bottom rib on either side of the rib cage is called the short or floating rib. The lack of a “next rib in line to add to stability” creates a place to exploit.

Sharp, hard strikes to this area

can cause a good deal of pain, and in the case of a rib break, can be debilitating.

Be forewarned that getting a

precise short rib strike on a standing opponent sometimes can be difficult. Short ribs dig This same region can be attacked with the grip.

Hook your fingers into the flesh

beneath the attacker’s rib and penetrate so that you can hook underneath the rib.

Kidney shot Another illegal shot in striking sports, but of high value in a survival encounter.

Target your strikes in the soft

tissue on either side of the spine just beneath the ribs.

Inner upper arm Attacks here are not man- stoppers, but they can move an individual to a better position if nothing else is available.

You can use the grip to cow

bite (grip, squeeze and twist) the tender flesh on the inside of the upper arm.

Attacks on the hands should not be under- estimated. If the hand or fingers suffer a break, they will be less likely to strike, grip a weapon or grab you. Hitcher Grip the thumb and peel it toward the wrist and then

across the back of the hand with a quick vicious rip.

Baby snappers A cutesy term for a painful move. Baby snapping is seizing one or more of your attacker ’s fin- gers and peeling them backward toward his wrist until they break.

Snap as many fingers as you

can and go back for more.

Add a twisting motion in the

peel-back to add a dislocation to the break. Splitters If you find both of your hands on one of the attacker’s, use both to hit the baby snappers or hitcher. Or you can opt for splitting.

To split, grip one or two fingers

in one hand and one or two fin- gers in the other. With a quick snap, split them apart in opposite directions. Hand smashing Anytime you see an attacker’s hand on a solid object Arms Hands

smash it.

Use your balled up hammer fist,

elbow, foot, shoe. Destroy those hands. Groin striking We all know what we’re going for here. When you strike, put every- thing you’ve got into it.

Go for ruptured testicles, not dis -

comfort.

The groin can be struck with

whatever tool you have near. A knee or kick to the balls are not your only options.

Groin ripping (penis)

Male readers might begin to cringe about now.

Let’s be realistic. In cases of

rape and other varieties of sexual assault, the male genitalia may be exposed, easy to access and aroused, which eases access. We’ve got to lose all pretensions of propriety and revulsion and go for the obvious target.

The penis, whether erect or

flaccid, is tethered to the body by only a bit of skin. A firm grip, twist and sharp pull down or to the side give enough against the grain action to cause serious injury.

If the penis is erect, a quick twist

and pull downward might be enough to cause what is known as penile fracturing.

Groin ripping (testicles)

The testicles are often

exposed and easy to access. A crushing grip accompanied by twisting and ripping from the body should do the trick.

Tear the scrotal sac against

the grain by ripping either to the left or the right.

Crushing and ripping the testi-

cles in any direction will cause injury, but ripping to the side assists the potential for tearing the skin.

Groin biting (penis)

I have a file with a surprising number of cases of brave, indomitable female victims who have not only survived sexual assault, but also completely incapacitated their attackers with this tactic. I wonder if we would see a decrease in the number of sexual assaults if this sort of hardcore resistance was more common and well-publicized. The advice goes for both gen- ders. In the event of forced oral copulation, I’d take my own advice — Bobbitizing via teeth — in a heartbeat.

Attempted forced oral copula-

tion provides this target. Use the incisors to clamp down with all your might.

Twist and pull to either side.

Groin biting (testicles)

Again this target is often pre-

sented on its own.

As indelicate as it may be,

use the incisors to clamp down over a single testicle — hard.

Twist and pull away.

Coccyx striking

The coccyx or tailbone may not

present itself as a target often, but if it does, a sharp strike to the base is particularly painful.

Doctor proctor

We’re back in indelicate territory, this time on the opposite side of the body. This technique can be used during sexual assault when the target is unclothed and exposed. But it also can provoke movement and allow you to gain some room when an opponent is clothed and it’s not sexual assault on his mind.

Use the extended thumb to jab

fast and hard at the rectum.

I’m not advocating penetration,

but quick, sharp shots to the gen- eral area.

Split splitting

This final pelvic target tactic is used if the victim has been vagi - nally penetrated from the front (missionary position) and has found attacking the eyes or any other targets hard to manage.

The crease that divides the

human buttocks (the crack of the butt) is sensitive to separation.

Grip a buttock in each hand

reaching as deeply into the gluteal fold as you can manage.

Grip tightly and then, with

sudden force, separate each but- tock to the outside in opposite directions.

This tactic can range from

debilitating, due to tears along the fold, to inspiring movement or ces- sation of sexual assault while you seek other, more certain targets.

Outer thigh

This target is of such value that

Muay Thai and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters take great pains to exploit it.

It is best attacked with a leg

kick or a knee.

Aim for the section of thigh right

in the middle of the femur on the outside of the leg.

Upper, inner thigh

This sensitive

area of skin can be attacked the same way you attack the upper, inner arm.

Grip a

handful of skin, then squeeze and twist to gain working room.

Knee striking (knee cap)

The knee joint and patella are

susceptible to damage via kicks.

Barks to the knee cap might be

your best bet.

Although a good target, the

groin above and the shins below might be better and more easily accessed.

All of the prescribed targets are viable, but if you had to play per - centages or make first choices, I suggest that instead of being a general practitioner you become a specialist — an expert at striking the eyes, ears, nose and throat.

Knee striking (outer tendon)

The tendon that connects the

outer hamstring muscle (biceps femoris) to the outside of the knee joint and the knee joint itself are surprisingly effective targets, especially if one uses the easily learned heel chop kick.

Shins

The shins

are an excellent target, particu- larly if we aim a short bark with a shoe or purring kick at the sensitive inner shin as opposed to the front or meaty outer shin.

Achilles ten- sion strike A stomp or knee drop applied to the tendon just above the heel is ideal. Foot smashing Foot stomps — with shoes — anywhere along the toes or insteps.

These will

not halt an attack by themselves, but are quite useful in the midst of your Tasmanian Devil or Sam Spayed flurries.

Baby snappers

If we are fighting a barefoot

attacker and the foot comes into our grasp, treat the toes as you would the fingers.

Grab individual toes and twist,

pull and rip toward the top of the foot.

Splitters

Grip two to three toes in one

hand and the remainder in the others.

Pull the bunches of toes in

opposite directions.

There is a lot of well intentioned self-defense advice structured around the scientific uses of leverage.This advice can be labeled aikido, jiu-jitsu, sambo, krav maga, old school wrestling and on and on and on. For all intents and purposes, we can wrap all of these

approaches up under one rubric and call the advocated uses of leverage for self-defense grappling. I prefer the word grappling in the self-defense context because it implies a bit of ambiguity or indefinite outcome as in the phrase “grappling with a problem.” Many of the other specific labels for grappling seem to lead many to the idea that there is a single, specific answer to each and every attack.

This single answer to each attack idea might (might)

In document Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Trabajo Fin de Grado. Juegos Infinitos (página 30-78)